Chapter 15 Liu Qingyue smiled and said to Qin Ren: ...

Liu Qingyue smiled and said to Qin Ren, "Am I very strong now?"

Qin Ren nodded upon hearing this. "What did he just say that made you so angry?"

Liu Qingyue shook her head, still unwilling to tell Qin Ren that he was a boy.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Qin Ren, but rather that he felt too ashamed.

When they first met, Qin Ren not only kicked him in the butt, but also accidentally let Qin Ren see his body. He knew that Qin Ren couldn't be blamed for this, and that Qin Ren hadn't intentionally torn his clothes.

He later slept in Qin Ren's bed, had his feet seen by Qin Ren, and even took a bath at Qin Ren's house.

He always felt that if he told Qin Ren the truth, their relationship wouldn't be as relaxed as it is now.

And then there's... he also wants a good reputation. He doesn't want Qin Ren to think he's a frivolous person, and he's even more afraid that he won't be able to get married normally in the future.

Liu Qingyue: "He wants to team up with others to steal our things."

Qin Ren: "It's alright, they've already been knocked unconscious, so the others will behave themselves."

As Qin Ren said this, he turned his head and looked at the few guys who had been making a move.

By this time, they had already behaved themselves and didn't even dare to look in this direction anymore.

Qin Ren knew that it wasn't that they had suddenly had a change of heart, but rather that Liu Qingyue had acted tough enough.

If Qin Ren and Liu Qingyue had acted a little better, or if their methods had been a little softer, the situation wouldn't be so relaxed and peaceful now.

The two continued on their way. Liu Qingyue seemed to still feel unsatisfied, so when he and Qin Ren left, he deliberately stepped on the person on the ground.

But they hadn't gone far when another group of people came looking for them.

This time, they didn't come looking for trouble, nor did they come begging for free food.

Two people came this time, a man and a woman.

The woman came seeking a weapon. She saw Liu Qingyue's weapon and also saw how Liu Qingyue, a young man, easily took down someone.

The woman knew they were not related, and she knew they wouldn't give away such a powerful weapon for free, so she immediately expressed her desire to buy it.

The woman asked with a smile, "Um, could you sell me your weapon?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Qingyue shook her head, "No, this is the only one I have, and I need it for self-defense."

The woman was a little disappointed when she heard this. Liu Qingyue thought that Qin Ren was short of money, so she told Qin Ren why the woman had come.

Liu Qingyue: "She wants to buy my stun gun, but I don't want to sell it. Do you have any other weapons to sell her?"

Qin Ren nodded upon hearing this, and then pulled out a folding knife and a fruit knife from his lower back.

He doesn't plan to sell his stun baton for the time being. He'll only sell it for money when he gets better weapons in the future.

The two knives in Qin Ren's hand were originally for self-defense.

The folding knife was the best made; it was specially commissioned by Qin Ren.

The knife is foldable, made of a very strong and resilient material, and has an exceptionally sharp blade.

Qin Ren showed them the two knives in his hand and asked Liu Qingyue to inquire whether they wanted such knives.

The woman clearly didn't know much about weapons, so she asked the man next to her for advice.

"So? Want to buy it?"

Upon hearing this, the man lowered his voice and said, "Buy it."

"You want both?"

"Um."

Seeing this, the woman nodded and took out a purse from her person.

Both the woman and the man looked like disaster victims, but surprisingly they had quite a bit of money on them.

In her purse were not only gold, but also silver and a jade pendant.

The woman said to Liu Qingyue, "We want both knives. Is one gold leaf enough?"

Unable to make the decision herself, Liu Qingyue asked Qin Ren for his opinion.

Qin Ren hadn't expected her to be so generous.

However, considering that these are chaotic times and gold and silver are indeed not as valuable as before, it doesn't seem like she was being particularly generous.

Compared to gold and silver, food, medicine, and weapons were the most important resources for survival at this time.

Qin Ren: "Okay."

The two men took the weapons and left immediately.

On the way, they tested the two knives. The man was clearly skilled in martial arts and had a broad knowledge base.

He only had to try them out to know that the two knives were quite good.

Even in times of chaos, a single knife would be worth a lot of money, so it's really not expensive for them to buy two knives with a single gold leaf.

The man is holding the fruit knife. A fruit knife without a sheath is dangerous, so it's safer for him to hold it.

The woman kept the folding knife close to her body, intending to use it for self-defense in a critical situation.

They were a master and servant; the woman was the master, and the man was the guard.

The two got separated from the others in the city and had to pretend to be ordinary disaster victims along the way.

Instead of following the crowd, they headed down a side path, their destination seemingly not south.

Afterwards, Qin Ren led Liu Qingyue on their way, and it was almost three o'clock in the afternoon when another customer cautiously approached them.

This "customer" had wanted to come and exchange items with them in the morning.

However, at that time, there were too many people watching Qin Ren and Liu Qingyue.

Since he was all alone, he was worried that if he traded with them, he would be robbed by other disaster victims as soon as he turned around.

So he waited patiently until there were fewer people around in the afternoon before he dared to cautiously approach.

The customer was a man in his early twenties, and he was rather thin.

He hunched his shoulders and asked cautiously, "I'd like to trade with you for some food."

Upon hearing this, Liu Qingyue asked him, "What do you have that you can trade?"

"Yes, I have one. I have a piece of jade here. I wonder how much food I can exchange for it?"

Liu Qingyue looked at the jade in the other person's hand. The quality of the jade didn't look very good, but it was still quite valuable in the chaotic times.

After examining the jade, Liu Qingyue told Qin Ren its value to prevent him from being deceived as he was an amateur.

"The jade isn't of very high quality, but it's still worth some money. You can give him some food, but there's no need to give him too much."

Seeing this, Qin Ren smiled and said, "Alright, let's switch with him then."

As Qin Ren spoke, he took out a bag of candy, two packets of instant noodles, two packets of soda crackers, and two eggs from his backpack.

The man seemed surprised to receive so many things in exchange, and he was immediately filled with excitement and gratitude.

He had previously traded a piece of gold for two steamed buns, the kind that are hard and coarse.

If he had known he would run into Qin Ren and his group, he should have saved the good stuff.

Having successfully obtained the item, the man thanked Qin Ren and Liu Qingyue profusely.

"Thank you both, thank you both... If it weren't for your righteous help, I would have starved to death in the wild."

The man also told them his name, "My surname is Shen, and my given name is Wan Ying. I don't know the names of you two benefactors. If we are destined to meet again in the future, I will definitely thank you both properly."

Liu Qingyue waved her hand, "No need. You lack food, we lack money. We're just taking what we need. You don't need to remember our kindness."

Seeing that Liu Qingyue was unwilling to reveal her name, Shen Wanying did not press the matter.

He thanked the two men repeatedly, then left furtively with the food in his arms.

After that, Qin Ren and Liu Qingyue did not encounter anyone else.

By this time, Liu Qingyue was exhausted. He felt that his soles must be blistered again, so he frowned and stopped.

Liu Qingyue: "Brother, let's find a place to rest. I'm so tired."

Qin Ren glanced at his watch; it was already past 7 p.m. He wondered if he could find the door.

If they can't find the door, they'll have to spend the night here.

Qin Ren wasn't worried about encountering wolves and tigers, since they were still in the famine-stricken north.

On the road, let alone encountering jackals, tigers, and leopards, almost all the birds flying in the sky, the fish swimming in the water, and the insects crawling on the ground were eaten by people.

Qin Ren: "Alright, let's rest up ahead for a bit."

The two found a clean spot on the ground and prepared to build a fire to rest.

While Qin Ren was starting a fire, Liu Qingyue took off her shoes and checked her feet.

It would have been better if he hadn't looked; once he did, he couldn't help but purse his lips, and his eyes even turned a little red.

It hurts so much.

The wound that was previously abraded has become even larger and is still bleeding.

He had been pampered since childhood and had never bled so much before.

Thinking of this, crystal tears streamed down his face.

Qin Ren felt a headache coming on when he saw this. "Why are you crying again?"

Liu Qingyue groaned softly, "My feet hurt."

"let me see."

Liu Qingyue wanted to say no, he didn't want Qin Ren to see it.

However, considering that Qin Ren knew some medical skills, he eventually took a look at Qin Ren.

Qin Ren took a look by the firelight, then took out disinfectant and bandages to re-bandage him.

Qin Ren: "Alright, the wound isn't serious. You'll be fine after a few days of rest."

Liu Qingyue pursed his lips. They didn't have a carriage, so he couldn't get a proper rest.

Qin Ren seemed to see through his thoughts and said to him with a smile, "Once we find the door, I'll get you a car."

"real?"

"real."

"When will we find the door? This is the middle of nowhere, and I'm afraid of wild animals at night."

"After you rest for a bit, I'll carry you on my back and keep going. There won't be any wild animals on the road, and even if there are, they'll probably be eaten by humans."

The north suffered from drought for two years, with at least one year of famine.

Throughout the year, people will definitely search for food everywhere in order to survive.

Some of them can even eat people, let alone wild animals.

Of course, some wild animals are agile and might hide.

They couldn't be too careless while traveling at night.

Because of Qin Ren's words, Liu Qingyue's mood improved slightly.

He thought Qin Ren was a very caring person.

I wonder who will marry him in the future and follow him... I hope he won't suffer too much.

After resting for half an hour, Qin Ren carried Liu Qingyue on his back and continued on his way.

They couldn't find the door and ended up spending the night in a cave.

Neither of them had rested well, and the next morning, they dragged their tired bodies on their way, finally finding the door around noon.

After returning, Qin Ren went to catch up on his sleep.

Liu Qingyue's feet hurt, and she couldn't fall into a deep sleep.

He stayed up until nine o'clock at night before finally falling asleep.

Qin Ren came to see him and brought him a bowl of beef noodles before leaving silently again.

When Liu Qingyue woke up again, it was already the morning of the next day.

He needed to use the restroom, and he was also hungry, so he rubbed his stomach and limped out of the basement.

Qin Ren was inspecting a mountain bike in the yard; the bike he had mentioned to Liu Qingyue earlier was a mountain bike.

This vehicle is indeed not as comfortable as a horse-drawn carriage, but it is still much faster than walking.

Liu Qingyue glanced at the "makeshift" vehicle, and without thinking much, she swayed and waddled into the toilet.

A note from the author:

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